Review: Butcher Shop Quartet
Butcher Shop Quartet is a collection of four short novellas by US authors Boyd E. Harris and A.T. Andreas, Englishman Michael Stone and Australian writer Clinton Green. The collection is edited by Frank J. Hutton and presented in an A5 soft cover bound book. It is available through Cutting Block Press.
Butcher Shop Quartet presents four dark, disturbing and wickedly entertaining short novellas from authors usually found in the short story market. Straddling the line between the mysterious and the macabre, each of the stories offer a fresh and unique twist on the horror genre, but compliments each other with a tone that is always dark and menacing.
Boyd E. Harris’ The Last of Coca Verde is an engaging and fast-paced psychological thriller. The story takes us deep into the South American jungles where a man searching for his lost brother discovers something much more sinister. With sharp descriptions and subtle hints Harris instils a sense of unease early on in the reader, playing on the notion that all is not as it seems. As the story builds so to does the tension before all is reveals in a thrilling twist ending.
Clinton Green transports us back to turn of the century Melbourne for his tale The House on the Hill which explores the lasting effects of a simple prank. Set in the prestigious Queen’s college the story follows a group of students from their school days to their time in the First World War. Green creates strong, realistic characters drawing horror from the inner demons each is tormented by. What begins as a retelling of a familiar “haunted house” story turns into a smart and well rounded fable.
Michael Stone uses humour to put a fresh spin on an old story with his tale The Reconstruction of Kasper Clark in which a man does a deal with the devil in an effort to fix his imperfections. Stone combines surreal images, unsettling horror and social satire to create an engaging and rewarding read.
A.T. Andreas ends the collection with a darkly erotic story about a young man burdened by destiny and seduced by evil. Darkling Child is the most sinister of the stories on offer and combines themes of black magic, sacrifice and incestuous sex. Both sensual and violent, the story suffers slightly from the overuse of back story but rounds out a strong collection of sharp and intelligent fiction. I look forward to seeing what the quartet produce next.
Butcher Shop Quartet is available now through Cutting Block Press.
3 comments:
Hey Mark, glad you liked the BSQ anthology, it's one I'm proud to be a quarter of.
Thanks for a positive analysis of my story, you're the first reviewer (I think)to use the words 'social satire' in describing The Reconstruction of Kasper Clark. That's how I regard it too.
I shall link to this blog from my own. Thanks again.
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